The present invention relates to radar applications, and, in particular, to waveform diversity methods that enhance radar performance and/or prevent unauthorized utilization of emissions that result from the application of bistatic technology to radar and communication systems.
Applying bistatic technology to radar can lend itself to impermissible use of sidelobe emissions through unfriendly or unauthorized detection and tracking of targets. Prior efforts at controlling radar signatures have focused on developing ultra-low sidelobe antennas. Prior-art methods attempt to defeat signal acquisition by affecting the temporal aspect of sidelobe energy. Although sidelobe masking has shown some success in defeating non-cooperative bistatic operation, sophisticated systems can still use sidelobe energy to decode and eventually detect radar transmission signals.
What is needed is to increase traffic in multiple access schemes (e.g., a greater opportunity to reuse frequencies in space-division multiple access) while maintaining the security aspects of a transmitted radar waveform. In communications systems the benefits of waveform diversity are similar to those in simple radar systems. Preventing the acquisition and manipulation of signals is key to maintaining communication security.